Now that the secret is out about the Community movie, creator Dan Harmon is teasing fans with early details of what to expect—and what not to expect.
In September, Harmon and cast members from the show went viral across social media after they announced they had finally fulfilled the Community prophecy by creating six seasons and a movie.
The feature-length version of the show, set to star returning stars Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Ken Jeong, Jim Rash and more, will air on NBC streaming service Peacock.
While there's no release date confirmed on the Community movie, Harmon has confirmed that it is deep into development, as he told Newsweek in August.
Remaining tight-lipped on what it will be about, he's ruled out a number of story ideas and callback references that we won't see in the movie. Harmon appeared on a special episode of the fan podcast, Six Seasons and a Podcast with Alex Burdine, where they discussed a range of Community topics, including the movie.
"Do we really think that it would be a good idea for the Community movie to be a paintball episode? I think that's one of the first things to kind of rule out," Harmon said, referencing the popular paintball episodes from the TV show.
"An issue with the Community movie concept is that we did a lot of episodes where, from page 1 to page 30, you are joyfully locked in a construct that isn't a traditional sitcom narrative, but it's rather through the lens of David Fincher or Scorsese or, more importantly, through the lens of one of the character's perceptions."
Harmon also ruled out the movie being a "Dungeons and Dragons" game for 90 minutes, something which was performed twice within the show's run. He also confirmed that the Community movie wouldn't take place over "one night" in real time.
Harmon credits TV writer Andrew Guest with helping formulate the story that the movie actually does take on, suggesting he deserves a medal for his efforts.
They started working on the movie before the pandemic, and they worked on an outline for the story without yet knowing which actors would be available to reprise their roles.
"I could riff some examples of things that I think would be a bad way to get started on a Community movie premise: one would be like Greendale Community College has been closed down for 10 years. That'd be an easy natural thing because right? The campus is the show, the show has been off the air."
Harmon continued: "Okay, great, but now are you going to spend your movie painting and fixing windows in abandoned hallways, without students going to and fro?"
Harmon suggested that since it's almost a decade since the show ended, his characters grew and developed in that time, but still "they are unmistakably themselves."
McHale played the lead in Community, smooth-talking former lawyer Jeff Winger, and Harmon credits the actor with leading the charge for the movie to be made.
"If we didn't have Joel, then I don't know how you would rally a cast like that, all of whom are incredibly exceptional people but they all trust Joel."
Harmon said: "He's a natural leader and that includes me. Like, Joel got my job back. Joel, is just that guy, and it's kind of funny because that's Jeff Wingers natural gift as well."
There is no release date scheduled for the Community movie as of yet but it will air on streaming service Peacock.
Harmon's full interview can be heard on the upcoming episode of Six Seasons and a Podcast, scheduled to drop on December 23 at 12 p.m. ET.
Correction 12/21/22 8:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the air date of the Six Seasons and a Podcast episode.
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